Chronicles Episode, three (part 1)
by Dawn Spencer
Summary: We finally get a good look at the brand-new mobilee suit tech... NOT ON ANY OTHER SHOWS


Third Episode. Part one.  
  
(Same narration from Episode Two, but omitting the last sentence.)  
  
In the first scene, the five Gundam pilots have gathered at some sort of living quarters. Everyone is at the dinner table. The furnishings are very home-like, and most of the furniture covers are dark red, or blue.  
  
(Duo) "Boy, Heero. I never knew you could cook. This is almost as good as the stuff Hildey makes me!"  
  
(H) "So the two of you hit it off, then?"  
  
(D) (In between bites) "Oh, yeah. As soon as she was healed, we high- tailed it to a place where we could live somewhat normal lives."  
  
(H) "What about you, Trowa?"  
  
(T) "I spent some time in the Colonies. Katherine was certainly glad to see me back for a while."  
  
(H) "Quatre?"  
  
(Q) (Swallowing food) "I was on Earth, looking for Dorothy Catalonia. She's a very interesting person. I wanted to see if any of her philosophies had changed after the war. Besides, she was one of the few remaining people with enough financial backing to stir up another skirmish."  
  
(H) "Wufei?"  
  
(W) "Traveling…(Munch) here, and there. Making sure there was not another war in the horizon."  
  
(D) "So how did you know where to contact us?"  
  
(H) "Actually, I only contacted you and Trowa. I knew Wufei, and Quatre would keep themselves connected to the rest of the world if they weren't staying in one place. I left a couple of hints here and there for them."  
  
(Q) "Is this your home, Heero?"  
  
(H) "This is my colony."  
  
Everyone looks up.  
  
(D) "Wow! We finally learn something about you!"  
  
(H) "We are entering a time when secrets about the past are becoming unnecessary."  
  
(Q) "Then, why not take this opportunity to tell us about yourself?"  
  
Heero gets up abruptly.  
  
(H) "When I'm ready."  
  
He grabs his plates, and heads to the kitchen.  
  
(D) "Yeesh!"  
  
(Q) "Give him time. He's apparently opened up his home to us. Maybe it's a start."  
  
The pilots slowly gather their plates and go to the kitchen as well. Heero is gone. They do not have the chance to wonder where he is, because he returns. He is carrying sheets, blankets, and pillows. He walks to the table and presses a button underneath. Now that dinner is off the surface, it folds into the floor. In its place, rise two small couches.  
  
(H) "Two of you can sleep here, and there are two more couches in the living room."  
  
(D) "What about the other two rooms?"  
  
(H) "This one is mine, you know where the bathroom is, and THIS one is OFF LIMITS. Goodnight." Heero goes into his room and the door shuts behind him. The boys react each in their own ways. They're a little stunned, but they are cheered when they discover that the wall between the dining room and the living room can be slid to fold out of the way. The effect creates a larger, combined room for all of them to hang-out in. They turn-on the T.V., and begin to settle in for the night. Duo stretches out on one of the couches.  
  
(D) "So, this is Heero's home. Great! At this rate, we'll know his real name by the end of the year."  
  
(T) (looking around) "This sure is a lot of space for just one guy. Especially for Heero. I thought he would have two or three rooms at most."  
  
(W) "Maybe before he was a Gundam pilot, he had with less to hide and had friends visit."  
  
(Q) "Or maybe family."  
  
They all get suddenly quiet at the thought.  
  
Cut to Heero in his room. There are no windows. White walls. Dim. There is a bed with plain blankets. Books stacked neatly onto shelves against the walls. There is a desk with a communicator, and a computer. There is a disarray of papers, and disks all over the desk. Heero is standing just inside the door. He approaches the communicator. He changes his mind, and turns away. After a moment, he turns back.  
  
Frustrated, he turns away again, and throws himself onto the bed. After a couple of seconds, he growls; punches the pillow; leaps up, and activates the communicator.  
  
Cut to Relena.  
  
She is in her suite. She is brushing her hair in front of the mirror. She is still dressed in the Peacecraft Suit.  
  
*Beep!  
  
(H) "Relena?"  
  
(R) "Heero!" She rushes to respond to the communicator.  
  
(H) "I saw the speech."  
  
(R) "Yeah. I felt terrible! What was I supposed to SAY in a time like this?"  
  
(H) "Exactly what you said."  
  
(R) "You have too much confidence in me."  
  
(H) "It's well-deserved."  
  
(R) (Blushing) "Heero,"  
  
(H) "Er…. Did you have um……Did they serve you anything to eat yet?"  
  
(R) "Yes, … I didn't eat much, but there'll be other chances. I don't know if I'll get to sleep tonight."  
  
(H) "You're not going to rest?"  
  
(R) "I may have to make more announcements. I'm waiting to hear from Lana. She's in the Control-room, now."  
  
(H) "Oh,…."  
  
(R) "Why do you ask?"  
  
(H) "Well, I still need to make some adjustments to Wing Zero, so I may decide to stay up as well."  
  
(R) "Yes?"  
  
(H) "There ARE communicators in the Delta Security area, and you DO have clearance."  
  
(R) "Heero, what are you asking?"  
  
(H) "Rather than being stuck in your room, would you like to come with me?"  
  
(R) (Surprised) "Uh,.. Sure!"  
  
(H) (Smiling from ear to ear) "Great! I'll be right there!"  
  
*Beep  
  
Cut to Heero's living room. The other pilots are chatting. Heero rushes out of his room, and out of the apartment without a word. The front door slams behind him.  
  
(D) "Whoa! 'Wonder where HE'S off to in such a rush!"  
  
As they return to their conversation, dissolve to the same room much later that night. Quatre is the only one still awake. He is thinking as he sips a large, hot cup of something at one of the couches. The T.V. is off. The communicator (on the kitchen counter) activates:  
  
*Beep.  
  
"Hello?" It is Lana's voice. Quatre answers.  
  
(Q) "Quatre here,"  
  
(L) "Oh, hi Quatre. Is Heero there?"  
  
(Q) No, he rushed-out for something a couple of hours ago."  
  
(L) "Did he say where to?"  
  
(Q) "Not a word."  
  
(L) "Well, if he comes back, let him know I'll be in the Control-room all night, o.k.? After what happened earlier, he may be concerned when I don't come home."  
  
(Q) "I remember. Are you o.k.?"  
  
(L) "Physically, yes. What you saw was a reaction to the memory of the accident." She bows her head.  
  
(Q) (Sadly) "And that's why…. The mask."  
  
(L) (Looking up) "You once knew me, Quatre. Why else would I wear a mask in a time when secrets can be so harmful?"  
  
(Q) "I understand."  
  
(L) "Thank you. Over and out."  
  
*Beep.  
  
Cut to Heero and Relena walking down the security hallway. They are speaking in low tones, because of the late hour. Relena is also sipping a cold beverage. They approach the Delta Security door, and are startled to find Fioree COMING OUT OF THE ALPHA SECURITY DOOR!  
  
His back is to them as he secures the door behind himself. He notices Heero and Relena, and practically jumps out of his own boots.  
  
(F) "WHOA! Heero! Relena!" He salutes.  
  
(H) "YOU have Alpha security clearance?!"  
  
(F) "I had to. It was in case anything happened during……"  
  
(H) "The test flight."  
  
(F) (Bows his head) "Lana won't go in there anymore. I came to check on the machine."  
  
(H) "What's in there?"  
  
Fioree eyes Relena, then looks to Heero.  
  
(H) "She can hear whatever you have to say to me."  
  
(F) (Looking upright at them both) "The Linked-Intelligence mobile suit is in there."  
  
(H) "That's Lana's new suit,"  
  
(F) (Nodding) "The one she designed."  
  
(H) "What kind of accident happened that requires repair?"  
  
(F) "Well, it wasn't really repair, but we only have…." (Looking at his watch) "Three days left until contact. It is high time I cleaned up the machine in case we need it. I doubt it's any use, though. Lana had quite a scare in there."  
  
(As Fioree continues to speak, we see images of Lana with face in shadow in a pilot's seat.)  
  
(F) "There are two ways to use the machine. The first is like piloting the Epyon or Wing Zero, but when Lana switched to Combat mode, something went wrong…." (Superimpose the images from Lana's flashback, over Eric Fioree's face. That face seems to twist itself more and more in anguish as he speaks. He faces the door to speak now. We see Relena, and Heero's reactions to Fioree's words as wee look at the three of them from the door, now.)  
  
(F) "She did not respond to communication. I could hear her breathing. Then she started screaming…. 'it's too much, it's too much'…. Until."  
  
He chokes on the words for a moment. The flashback stops. He looks up at the audience with eyes cold, now.  
  
(F) "Lana died during the test flight."  
  
(Heero, and Relena's reactions.)  
  
(F) "Her heart exploded. Luckily, residual brainwaves in the system brought the suit back to the port. We pulled her out, and straight into the medical lab." (Shots of Lana covered in a white {bloody} sheet, pulled out of the Alpha door. Shots of her in the med. lab with doctors busy over her. Her face is still not visible.)  
  
(F) "I had to have clearance for just such a thing. We replaced her heart, and used the new nano-bot medical technology to save her. It was the same technology that saved Zechs. The nano-bots were able to repair the damage to most everything but her left eye. There was too much sensitive damage to it. We replaced that as well."  
  
At this point, we begin to see that Fioree's cold façade is faltering. He looks down, now, and we see from Heero and Relena's perspective of him.  
  
(F) "This is why she won't come here. She won't talk about it either; even to me. This is why she's afraid to go into the trainer. I can only imagine what she went through in there."  
  
He shakes his head, and his shoulders rise in self-defense.  
  
(F) "I cannot even fathom what kind of experience it takes to cause her heart to…."  
  
He cannot finish. Heero walks up near him.  
  
(H) "You car about her."  
  
Fioree nods, numbly.  
  
(H) "You should sleep. I know how long you've been up."  
  
(F) (Composing himself) "Do you want to get in?"  
  
Heero ponders this for a moment. We look down upon all three of them now, from high above on the alpha door.  
  
(H) "No. I'd rather respect Lana's wishes. If I see it, I'll be tempted to fly it myself for her sake."  
  
Fioree just nods in response, but Relena is confused. Heero leads her back to the delta door, as Fioree starts to leave, himself.  
  
(H) (To Fioree) "I'm going to work on Zero for a while."  
  
He leads the stunned Relena with him, and onto the platform within the delta area.  
  
(R) "I'm amazed at your dedication to that woman. Is she your commander?"  
  
(As the two walk, we switch back and forth between the perspective of each as they look at each other.)  
  
(H) "Sort-of. After most of the colony's leaders perished in the war, she was the only one left with enough respect, ability, and resources to re- organize. But it's more than that. Lana helped train me. We were both orphaned in the year A.C. 180. Lana was six. I was only months old. She helped raise me. Doctor 'J' raised us both."  
  
(R) "So she's more like a sister to you."  
  
(H) "She uh…. er yes."  
  
They have reached the Wing Zero, now. Heero alternately faces it, and Relena. Relena faces him.  
  
(H) "I admired her strength. She took responsibility for me when she was only a child herself. She kept that responsibility for nearly ten years."  
  
(R) "Then?"  
  
(H) "Earth. To the Lake Victoria Academy."  
  
Relena nods. Heero looks up at Zero.  
  
(H) "Pilot mode like the Wing Zero, huh? I underestimated her again. I thought she was just a technician. She developed a suit that could out- power the Gundams. She never ceases to amaze me. She can do anything!"  
  
Shot of Relena gazing at Heero's profile as he gazes up at Zero…. Lost in his admiration for his superior.  
  
*Cut to commercial? 


End file.
